Over-stretched and under-thought, the improbable story-line limps from chapter to chapter looking for a thread which will haul it to safety". Griffiths appears in a brief but spectacular role as a nurse temporarily dressed up as a sexy nun; she comes to the rescue when Starkey — who takes a great deal of punishment during the course of the film — needs urgent medical attention. Tohle je bráno jako humoristická knížka… a ano, pokud se chlámáte u Schindlerova seznamu, tak se budete řezat smíchy i tady. It turns what happened was Dan’s lover Margaret is the daughter of David McGarry, political ally of Mark Brinn, who is the front runner for prime minister of Northern Ireland at the upcoming election that is less than two weeks away. They are at least reading copies, complete and in reasonable condition, but usually secondhand; frequently they are superior examples.

The way it is written is quite lighthearted and often very very funny, but the story is far from amusing, and I found it difficult to square the one with the other. This black comedy is set around the life of Northern Irish reporter Dan Starkey, a married drunk, who gets entangled in a web of political intrigue and Irish sectarian violence, at the same time as Northern Ireland is set to elect a new Prime Minister. On joining his new flame at her place: "Margaret went and opened the door slightly and an elderly Jack Russell pressed his face through the gap. Colin Bateman's Belfast-set thriller is a roller-coaster ride of a book that will keep you chuckling and horrified in equal measure from start to finish.The plot is set around the Northern Irish reporter Dan Starkey who gets entangled into a web of political intrigue and Irish sectarian violence, at the same time as Northern Ireland is set to elect a new Prime Minister.

Divorcing Jack is the debut novel and first of the Dan Starkey series by Northern Irish author, Colin Bateman, released on 28 January 1995 through HarperCollins. Colin Bateman's characters are true Belfast characters, he has the city down pat as well as the language/dialogue. It's good to see David Thewlis, one of the finest British actors of his generation, play the lead in a British film – as he did in his prime, and not a side character in Hollywoodian films like Harry Potter. I still like the author’s writing style and dark humor, so I may give the next book in the series a try. But here he's back to what he does best: a hard-drinking, hard-talking antihero with a mouth like a sewer.

This political background is clarified through the character of visiting Boston Globe journalist Charles Parker (Richard Gant). The only person who seems to be causing any trouble is Dan Starkey (Thewlis), a drunken hack who, just one hour into the movie, is left with a broken marriage, a dead body, a stripper nun (Griffiths) on his case, an IRA squad on his back, a code ("divorce. A good read, not that funny for a dark comedy, but a fresh take on the Troubles without avoiding the issues.